Nurses? attitude and practice in providing tobacco cessation care to patients

Introduction. Patients respond very positively with nurses when they talk to them about their health related problems. Methods. This cross sectional study was carried out among nurses working in Gulf Medical College hospital and Research centre, Ajman, UAE to assess the their attitude in providing tobacco cessation counselling or advise to their patients and potential barriers they face in providing tobacco cessation care. 108 nurses participated in the study. Results. Among the nurses 87% were females, the majority were aged between 25 and 34 years, and 46.3% had a work experience of less than 5 years. Among the nurses who participated in the survey, 99.1% felt that the hospital stay was a suitable time for nurses to create awareness on tobacco and health to the patients and had a positive attitude towards creating awareness on tobacco and health to the patients. Only 0.9% had a negative attitude towards creating awareness on tobacco and health and they felt that patients might not listen to them. All nurses, irrespective of their socio-demographic characteristics had a positive attitude to motivating patients to quit tobacco use. Currently, 70.4% regularly advise their patients to avoid tobacco products. Potential barriers pointed out by nurses were: lack of time (6.3%) patients may not appreciate it (90.6%) and not part of their job (3.1%). Conclusion. The study concludes that nurses have a positive attitude in providing tobacco cessation care to their patients and they can utilize their unique knowledge and know-how to promote tobacco cessation and prevent the spread of this public health crisis. Providing advice and support for tobacco cessation by nurses would increase the chance of patients stopping tobacco use. This will create an enabling environment and greater potential for public health persons to fight the epidemic with greater vigour

Clinical presentation of urolithiasis in Ajman, UAE

Background Urolithiasis is an increasing problem in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The mean age at onset of urolithiasis varies according to region. MethodRecords of urolithiasis cases confirmed by ultrasonography during the period 2007 to 2009 were retrieved from the Department of Medical Records. PASW 17 version was used for data analysis. ResultsOut of 458 patients 83.8% were males and 16.2% females. The male to female ratio was 5.2:1. The mean age at onset of urolithiasis was 33.1years with a SD of 8.6 years. There was no statistically significant difference in age at onset of urolithiasis among male and female. With regard to different anatomical sites, there was no statistically significant difference in age at onset. With regard to different anatomical sites, there was no statistically significant difference with age at onset, except an earlier onset seen for stone in kidney in females and for stones at multiple sites in males (

Medication adherence among diabetic and hypertensive patients in Al-Qassim region of Saudi Arabia

Non-adherence to medication is often an unrecognized risk factor that contributes to failure of the therapeutic plan. The purpose of the study was to identify factors related to high, medium and low medication adherence among adult Saudi patients with hypertension and diabetes mellitus. This study is designed as a descriptive cross sectional survey and was conducted in three tertiary care hospitals of Al-Qassim province of Saudi Arabia. The data was collected using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and analyzed by SPSS. Three levels of adherence were considered based on the following scores: 0 to <6 (low); 6 to <8 (medium); 8 (high). Of the 396 patients interviewed, 52% reported low adherence to prescribed medication. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted. Gender, age, literacy level, duration of illness and type of chronic disease were negatively associated with medication adherence. The study shows very high proportion of low and medium adherence on long term medication, which may be responsible for the failure of achieving therapeutic outcome. Further investigation is required to evaluate the applicability of MMAS-8 as a tool of measuring medication adherence among Saudi patients with chronic diseases. Adherence enhancing strategies should also be evaluated in separate patients group

Learning approach among health sciences students in a medical college in Nepal: a cross-sectional study

Aji Gopakumar,1 Susirith Mendis,2 Jayakumary Muttappallymyalil,3 Jayadevan Sreedharan3 1Department of General Education, 2Continuing&nbsp;Medical&nbsp;Education, Continuing Professional Development and Center for Continuing Education and Community Outreach, 3Department of Community Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab Emirates&nbsp;&nbsp;Shah et al aimed to explore the learning approaches among medical, dental, and nursing students which were considered useful to transform the students to become better learners. While the generic objective of the study is appreciated, we have some concerns regarding the methodology and statistical analysis of the study.&nbsp;View the original paper by Author and colleagues.&nbsp

Opinion of nurses regarding breast cancer screening programs

Aim: Found to be effective in its treatment. The increased incidence of breast cancer supports the implementation of breast cancer screening programs. The present study evaluates the opinion among nurses regarding breast cancer screening programs in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Materials and Methods: The study population included 154 nurses practicing at different hospitals in United Arab Emirates (UAE), all nurses who participated in the breast cancer awareness programme organized by Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE. A self-administered, pretested, structured, close-ended questionnaire was used for data collection. Statistical Analysis was performed using Predictive Analytic Software (PASW 17). Results: The participants\u2032 age ranged between 20 and 59 years. Fifty percent of the participants strongly agreed with the early detection of breast cancer by performing breast self examination. Thirty-nine percent were of the opinion that women aged 40 years and older should have a mammogram every year and continue to do so and 25.3% strongly felt that women in their 20s and 30s should have clinical breast examination as part of their periodic health examination by health professionals. 33.8% of the respondents strongly agree on providing information on the benefits and limitations of BSE to the female population. Twenty-six percent of the participants strongly agree that women at high risk should get magnetic resonance imaging and mammogram done every year. Conclusion: The present study indicates the need for providing workplace training programs thus equipping them with better knowledge and enhancing their service among the general population

Opinion of nurses regarding breast cancer screening programs

Aim: Found to be effective in its treatment. The increased incidence of breast cancer supports the implementation of breast cancer screening programs. The present study evaluates the opinion among nurses regarding breast cancer screening programs in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Materials and Methods: The study population included 154 nurses practicing at different hospitals in United Arab Emirates (UAE), all nurses who participated in the breast cancer awareness programme organized by Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE. A self-administered, pretested, structured, close-ended questionnaire was used for data collection. Statistical Analysis was performed using Predictive Analytic Software (PASW 17). Results: The participants′ age ranged between 20 and 59 years. Fifty percent of the participants strongly agreed with the early detection of breast cancer by performing breast self examination. Thirty-nine percent were of the opinion that women aged 40 years and older should have a mammogram every year and continue to do so and 25.3% strongly felt that women in their 20s and 30s should have clinical breast examination as part of their periodic health examination by health professionals. 33.8% of the respondents strongly agree on providing information on the benefits and limitations of BSE to the female population. Twenty-six percent of the participants strongly agree that women at high risk should get magnetic resonance imaging and mammogram done every year. Conclusion: The present study indicates the need for providing workplace training programs thus equipping them with better knowledge and enhancing their service among the general population

Empathy levels among first year Malaysian medical students: an observational study

Aji Gopakumar,1 Jayadevan Sreedharan,1 Gamini Premadasa,2 Jayakumary Muttappallymyalil3 1Statistical Support Facility, 2Medical Education Unit, 3Department of Community Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, United Arab EmiratesThis letter is in response to the article by Williams et al titled &ldquo;Empathy levels among first year Malaysian medical students: An observational study&rdquo; published in Advances in Medical Education and Practice, May 2014.1This observational study addresses the issue of educating medical students about empathy as an attribute &ndash; a matter which is often not given enough importance &ndash; and including the topic in the academic curriculum, in view of the declining empathy levels observed in clinical practice. We would like to raise some concerns regarding the methods used for data analysis in the paper. The authors have analyzed the data using descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviation (SD) that are not appropriate parameters since the instrument used a seven-point Likert scoring scale. It would have been better if they had used median with minimum and maximum rather than the mean and SD.&nbsp;View orignal paper by Williams et al

The Use of Obesity Indicators for the Prediction of Hypertension Risk among Youth in the United Arab Emirates

Background: Obesity is a significant risk factor for metabolic disorders including increase in blood pressure. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and Waist/Hip ratio (WHR) are simple and effective indicators of obe­sity. The objectives of this study were to examine the relationships between obesity anthropometric indicators and hy­pertension and to identify the best anthropometric indicator/s that can predict hypertension risk among youth in the UAE.Methods: A 110 first year students in a Medical University in Ajman, UAE, during the year 2009-2010 were included in a cross-sectional study. The height, weight, WC, hip circumference and blood pressure were measured and the BMI and WHR were calculated for each student and used in the analyses.Results: The mean values for BMI, WC, hip circumference and WHR, were significantly higher in the Pre/Hyperten­sive group compared to normal blood pressure group. The risk of Pre/ hypertension was significantly increased by 4.3 times for participants who had general obesity (BMI³ 30) or abdominal obesity (identified from high WC). Highly sig­nificant correlations were noticed between systolic and diastolic blood pressure and all anthropometric indicators except that for Hip circumference and systolic blood pressure. Step-wise linear regression model showed that when all obesity indicators were studied together, the waist circumference was the only indicator which showed significant relationship with both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.Conclusion: Waist circumference is the best anthropometric indicator that can predict hypertension risk among youth in the UAE